UPDATE: Brandon Iron, a long-time friend of Malone's, had been oveseas when Malone committed suicide, but said he had seen him the previous Friday, whee the pair had talked for an hour and a half.

"It was sort of a dark conversation," Iron said, "but you know, you always try to hold out light for somebody and just say, 'Okay, this is how we're going to get you back on track,' and this and that, and then it was kind of a blunt conversation too, because he was sort of fidgety, and I didn't like to confront him, but I said, 'Are you on drugs now?' And he said 'Yes,' and this and that, and I said 'Oh, you've got to stay away from what's hurting you the most. Please stop that.' And I wanted to have a meal with him, but he said he'd already eaten, and when you looked at him, he didn't, obviously; he was just living off coffee and snacks or whatever; he was just not in good shape mentally, physically, spiritually—he was a wreck."

Iron had suggested that Malone check himself into a rehab facility, but Malone told him that he'd tried to get into a facility in Tarzana, but was told they had a 45-day waiting list. He also had with him, at their meeting, forms to obtain government assistance, but apparently those were never filed. Iron was also dismayed that although Malone had sold his entire catalog to Evil Angel, he apparently had none of the proceeds left, and Iron speculated that Malone might have been robbed of the funds while in Thailand but was too embarrassed to admit it.

Malone had also left several notes, one addressed to Iron, who reported that it essentially said, "Thanks a lot for your support. I'm just at the end of my rope," adding, "and he wished me well with my daughter and girlfriend here."

"But that's not how you want to be remembered in this business," Iron added. "Jake was kind, he helped people; he helped me a lot too. I used to work for him, and he's one of those guys who just accepted what he was given at face value. He didn't expect you to be the greatest; he just expected you to be a true representative of your own feelings, and to just go with them, just let the beast loose. And that's what hurts, because he Got It, whereas a lot of other people either over-direct or they muddy it up somehow, but he was in tune with everyone's feelings on set, and he let you be whoever you wanted to be, and it was really important to him that everything just be authentic. That's really sad, that it comes to all this."

"Whatever demons he had, I just hope that he's at peace now, and that people appreciate the good side of him too, because he really helped a lot of people in the business," Iron continued. "There was a positive vibe on his sets and he had good intentions and you felt that when you were with him. You felt like he was creating something that was worth watching, that he put his time and effort into so you cared about it too. It wasn't just phoning stuff in with him, so I respected him very much for that."